Pokerstars is still available to me in Thailand, but I am from UK.

However I cannot get FTP to work. It keeps telling me there is a software update, but will not let me download it.

Anyone else having problems?

took a while to get the FTP update but got it eventually

and why shouldnt you be able to access ftp/stars if you are from the UK?

I had the same problem but I kept trying and finally got it to download the latest software. It's working fine now except I can't cash out :/

^^ this just worked for me.

Bank issue.

I opened an account at Kasikorn. When I try to transfer money from my American bank they say there is a 20K baht per day limit and they want to use my ATM card to complete the transfer. Is there a way to do it with an account number and routing number to avoid the ATM fees?

Furniture issue.

Anyone have any tips for picking up used sofas and stuff like that in CM? Anyone know where to pick up cheap new stuff? We walked both malls today and saw little in the way of furniture.

Food tip if ur interested.

We found a street stall directly across from salad concept that serves super cheap and super good Burmese food. Just stand in front of Salad Concept and walk across the street.

Edit: my uTorrent is busto after arriving "DHT: waiting to log in" anyone know what this is by chance? Never had any issues at home.

...meant to send as pm...sent

hey hit me up on facebook im online now.

the bold part about the firewall: do I understand correctly that this is basically disconnect protection, so that if their vpn goes down, the poker site will not actually be able to see your TRUE-physical IP address?

You have a moneybookers account registered to a Thai address and you do PS->MB->Your Thai Bank?

No, I have a MB connected to my Danish address. If you make it with your Thai address your in a world of hurt afaik, as you cant use it to deposit to online sites, and may very well no be able to receive money either.

so you send from MB to your Thai Bank account or do you just use the ATM card and withdraw and eat the fees associated with that? Thanks.

Thinking about moving to Thailand for a while and I have a few questions, thanks in advance for any help anyone can give me.

1) Do I need to buy a round trip plane ticket? I'm not sure when I'd like to leave so I'd prefer not to obviously.
2) Any recommendations on where to stay? I don't need a baller place or anything, just would prefer something that is closeish to the beach and fairly quiet at night. Can you get anything like that for 30k/month or less? I'd be willing to sign a 6-12 month lease.
3) What do I need to do to open a Thai bank account? Can I write a check to the Thai account drawn on my US bank account? How do Americans generally get money into their Thai bank accounts?

Thanks so much to anyone who can help me with these questions.

- don't need to show proof of a return flight ticket. just get a double entry tourist visa and do a quick border run when needed and you'll be covered for several months
- can get a nice place near the beach for less than $500/month in many places, the island koh samui has very cheap accommodation
- just need to walk into a bank branch with your passport to set up a bank account in 10 mins. can then send a bank wire in your home currency pretty easily with ~1% vig, or use moneybookers
- can pick up an aircard to have reliable internet immediately on arrival to save time and be able to grind before getting a connection installed at your place

MB to Thai bank account.

1) I you apply for a visa before you come, you may be asked to show a ticket taking you out of the county again. Likewise, when boarding theplane from your point of origin, you may also be asked to show a return ticket or similar.

2) House or condo? But yes, you can easily get something for less than 30k.

3) NOT necessarily this easy to set up a bank account, as Jspill thinks. When I did it I was asked for a work permit and proof of residency. I was able to talk them out of the work permit, but only because I had a 1 year lease for my house, but according to Thai law, it shouldnt be this easy. Just saying, you may get lucky, but they may also decide to make it a problem.

3) NOT necessarily this easy to set up a bank account, as Jspill thinks. When I did it I was asked for a work permit and proof of residency. I was able to talk them out of the work permit, but only because I had a 1 year lease for my house, but according to Thai law, it shouldnt be this easy. Just saying, you may get lucky, but they may also decide to make it a problem.[/QUOTE]

Depends on bank you try to set it up... also location might have something to do with it. But generally in Kasikorn bank it should be easy and usually no need work permit or lease contract there.
Did mine in Koh Samui... I quess they just checked my tourist visa.

yeah, dozens of posts itt about not needing a return flight ticket if you clearly have money, and the ease of setting up a bank acc., was just going by that and personal experience. think we're all aware that the technicalities of 'thai law' rarely actually get applied

kata kasikorn bank was insanely easy for me to get a bank account, I had an expired lease contract with me and that s it

if one kasikorn says no, go to another

and yes, other banks ask for work permit afaik

Or if they say no, you say yes, and the person will talk to the boss which says yes too.

What is annoying with Kasikorn is that they have estimated that im a middle income guy(100 000 baht a year), which is pretty insulting

Yeah, dont get me wrong, I know many get these things fixed no problems.
I just wanted him to be aware, that on a bad day, it could be a problem. When I first moved here,I had trouble even getting on the plane in Copenhagen Airport, because I didnt have a return ticket, something I had never thought would be a problem.

Thanks guys I appreciate the help. Beck, how did you deal with the problem of no return plane ticket when they initially didn't let you board the plane? Can you buy open-ended round trip tickets from any airlines? Or do you guys think it's not a big worry and I'll be fine with just buying a one-way ticket? Should I bring 5k of traveler's checks or something to the airport to show that I have enough money to buy a return ticket? Or would a recent bank statement be enough?

Do I not need to get a tourist visa before I arrive if I'm planning on staying for more than 30 days? Can I get a visa upon arrival in Thailand? If so, which approach would you guys recommend?

You could just book a cheap airasia flight to KL

edit: You should be able to get a 12 month open return ticket.

I was coming for 5 months originally, I got a single entry tourist visa, even though my return date was for after the visa expired, I got it no problem. I ended up staying 11 months. I emailed my travel agent and she booked me on a later return flight for a small fee.

On arrival you will get a 30 day stamp if you dont have a visa. (If youre not from a country like Somalia or something)

If you get a double entry visa it will be good for 3 months, then cross the border and come straight back for another 3.
If you want to get a visa after you arrive, you will need to leave the country (Malaysia, Vietnam etc) and go to an embassy, apply, stay overnight and go back the next day.

Great idea! I'll need to leave the country to renew my visa anyway, right? So if I do that I should for sure get a visa here in the states I guess. It just seems super shady that I mail them my ****ing passport. What could possible go wrong, right?

If you get a double entry visa its like having 2 visas.

So you only need to exit Thailand and come straight back in. You could fly out or go by bus to do this.

You can go to the embassy yourself if its close enough. I mailed my passport, didnt seem like a big deal. It was sent by courier and I got it back a few days later.

But yeh, get one before you come so you dont have to worry about visas for the first 3 months.

I create an account in Kasikorn (I'm from spain, but I'm gonna live here for a year).
I change my location in pokerstars to Thailand,
All my previous cashout methods (MoneyBookers, Neteller, Spanish bank account) disappear,
I tried to cashout to my Kasikorn account using wire transfer, I fill the data and the payment was made.. I cashout 100$ and the kasikorn bank apply me 12$ Fee (currency exchange, fee, commission... I don't know)...
Now I'm looking a diferent way to cashout... but clicknbuy, entropay, and webmoney apply a lot of fees...
I will try to cashout by Checks...

I tried to buy chips using my physical debit kasikorn card but was unsuccessful...

Before I change my county in pokerstars, the cheapest way to withdrawal money in Thailand was using my physical MoneyBookers Card (1.8$ per using the ATM and 2% for currency exchange)